


Not today

by killerweasel



Series: Make a Choice [3]
Category: Angel: the Series, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-05
Updated: 2013-03-05
Packaged: 2017-12-04 09:41:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/709320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When things go wrong, there are unexpected results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not today

Title: Not today  
Fandom: _Sherlock/Angel_  
Characters: Lindsey McDonald, John Watson, Jim Moriarty  
Word Count: 1,419  
Rating: R  
A/N: AU after _Sherlock's 'The Great Game'_ and _Angel's 'City Of...'_  
Warnings: N/A  
Summary: When things go wrong, there are unexpected results.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I showed up at the office building. This was supposedly a front of one of Moriarty’s many hide-outs scattered through the city. What I found was complete chaos. There were men lying all over the floor. Some of them were unconscious. Others clearly had broken bones. The most surprising thing was that none of them were dead.

A cry for help came from one of the rooms in the back of the building. Ignoring the minions (they knew what they’d gotten themselves into when they joined up with someone like Moriarty), I made my way towards the noise. As I got closer, I could hear John’s voice. The amount of curse words he knew was rather impressive.

As I stepped into the room, I was almost overwhelmed by the scent of fear. It was understandable though. John was smashing things as he walked. I saw someone in a rather nice suit try to make a run for it, see the look on John’s face, and go back in the opposite direction again. That must be Moriarty.

John paused just long enough to acknowledge my presence before continuing his rampage through the room. He didn’t seem interested in talking. I sighed. “John, I want you to walk away.” I really didn’t want this to turn into a fight. I might have the advantage of being older, which meant I was stronger and faster than he was, but he was angry. Anger trumped everything else. “You’ve scared the hell out of him. I could smell his fear when I came into the room.”

“He needs to bleed, Lindsey.” John kicked another chair out of his way. I heard Moriarty scramble out from under one desk and move to one further away. It wasn’t going to do him a whole lot of good though. John was getting closer. If he got within arm’s length, Moriarty was royally screwed.

“Sherlock and Lestrade are going to be fine.” I walked closer. “I just got off the phone with Mycroft. Their surgeries went well. Sherlock’s arm and Lestrade’s leg have been repaired. They’ll be in the hospital for a little while before being released.”

“He blew up a building with them in it!” The next chair John kicked actually shattered when it hit the wall. “They never had a chance to get out.”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.” Moriarty stuck his head around the edge of his desk. “The equipment was faulty. If I was going to hurt Sherlock on purpose, I’d come up with something far more original than blowing up a building.”

If the situation hadn’t been so serious, I might have laughed. Judging by John’s expression, he wasn’t amused. “I don’t care that it was faulty. I care that they got hurt playing one of your damn games.” John closed quickly the distance between them. He reached under the desk and pulled Moriarty out by his throat. Moriarty tried to get free, but John’s grip was like iron.

“Put him down, John.” I could see the consulting criminal’s face slowly changing color due to his lack of oxygen. “You’re better than this.”

Moriarty was almost purple now. He tried to claw at John’s wrist one last time before his eyes rolled up in his head. “He needs to pay, Lindsey.”

I came up behind John and set my hand on his shoulder. “Let go of him before he dies. If you kill him, you’re no better than he is.”

For a moment, I didn’t think John was going to do it. Then he relaxed his grip, dropping the unconscious man on the floor. I knelt down next to Moriarty. The bruises from John’s fingers stood out very clearly against his pale skin. At least John hadn’t broken his windpipe. I could hear his heart beating and he was breathing.

“I know I’m going to regret that. I should have snapped his neck.” John wiped his hand on his pants as if he’d been touching something dirty. “What are you going to do with him?”

“Mycroft told me to do what I saw fit. I’ll deal with him.” I nudged Moriarty’s body with my foot and heard him make a whining sound. “Call Mycroft. He’ll tell you what hospital they’re in. He said he was going to make sure it was in a place that had no windows so you could stay all day.”

“If he hurts Sherlock again, I’m not going to let anyone stop me from tearing his head off.”

“John, if he’s stupid enough to do it again after this, I’ll hold him down while you do it.”

John made a rude gesture in Moriarty’s direction before walking away. I waited until John left and then poked Moriarty in the shoulder a few times. “Wake up, Sparky.” When that didn’t get any response, I tried tapping his cheek. I saw his eyelids flicker. Muttering to myself, I put one of my hands over his mouth and used the other to pinch his nostrils shut. After a count of forty, Moriarty’s eyes popped open. I didn’t let go until his panicked gaze focused on me.

“Sorry about that. It was the best way to wake you up.” Moriarty started to say something and I shook my head. “Shut up. I’m going to speak for a few minutes and you’re going to listen.”

I sat down on the floor next to him. He looked like he was thinking about trying to move away from me. I set my hand down on his chest. “Relax. I said I just wanted to talk.” I waited until his heart rate slowed a little. “I don’t know you personally, but I know people like you. If you hold still for too long, your brain turns traitor, and you find yourself moving down a path that will end in your own destruction. Eventually, that’s how things will end. We both know it.”

The corners of his mouth turned up as he patted me on the arm. I chuckled softly. “You’re not ready for it to end yet because you’re still enjoying yourself. That’s why you’re playing games with Sherlock.” I sighed. “Sometimes shit happens and things go wrong. I get that.”

I took my hand off of him and motioned for him to sit up. He carefully eased his body into a sitting position. Moriarty gave me a ‘now what?’ look. “Now I have to decide what to do with you. No one would miss you if you suddenly vanished. I’m willing to bet the heads of the organizations in your empire have never actually seen you. You’re a scary story that criminals talk about after it gets dark.”

He shifted away from me. It didn’t really matter if he tried to make a run for it because I would catch him before he even got close to the door. “On the other hand, there are a couple of reasons to keep you alive. The first is you keep some of the nastiest groups of people in line. There’s a pecking order and territories and they all stay where they’re supposed to be because they don’t want to get you upset. The second is you keep Sherlock from being bored.”

“Keeps the rot away.” His voice sounded horrible. He swallowed a couple of times, rubbing his throat.

“I could kill you right now, but I won’t.” Some of the tension went out of his body. “I do have a suggestion. You should vanish for a couple months. Go completely off the radar until Sherlock is fully healed. If you try to play with him while he’s still recovering, I don’t think John will take that well. I am not going to help you the next time he decides he’s had enough of your horseshit. Can you do that for me, Moriarty?”

“I need to deal with some things outside of the country.” He winced at the sound of his own voice.

“I’m going to leave now.” I got to my feet and held out my hand. When he took it, I helped him stand up. “There are a few dozen minions out there who need medical attention. You should probably get yourself checked too. John could have done some damage to your throat.”

“What is he?”

If Moriarty didn’t know, I wasn’t going to tell him. “John’s a good man.” I shrugged. “Even good men have bad days.” I turned my back on him and left the room.


End file.
